A well-known phrase amongst motorcyclists is:
There are bold riders; there are old riders; there are no old bold riders.
I’ve been messing around with anything two wheeled since I was very young. I learnt my skills in the countryside in a kind of “did that hurt” way. Then, if it did hurt, why? How much? Thereby learning about risk. Where it can be found; how it can be avoided? Why? It’s a question often asked of me, especially as I head rapidly towards my 78th year. As the little weasels say, “Simples”. There is sheer joy to be had in riding a motorcycle. I found it early in my life and I still find it now.
I made a major change in profession at 21years of age, and joined Bristol Constabulary. I was taught to drive and ride to a systematic process by learning a Police Training Manual called Roadcraft off by heart. Then applying the skills to my riding and driving. Two phrases that don’t appear in Roadcraft, became our mantra, repeated often and loudly:
“Roadcraft is a guide to best practice, not a bible”.
“Motorcycling is not, in itself, dangerous. It is, however, extremely unforgiving of inattention, ignorance and, or stupidity”.
I’m sure many of you are well aware, but I’ll skip briefly through the why and how of Roadcraft. In 1937 the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police appointed Lord Cottenham, (a well-known racing driver of that time) to train Police driving instructors in ‘advanced’ driving.
Lord Cottenham's instructions allowed drivers to be in control of any situation they faced by reducing risk. Through using an ordered system of car control, they could ensure their vehicle was in the right place at the right time, travelling at the right speed and in the correct gear to clear a hazard safely. The System of Vehicle Control became available as Roadcraft – The Police Drivers Manual.
In the Police world in my day, we trained long and hard within our Force and at a Regional Driving School at regular and strict driving/riding tests and assessments. High percentage marks were required to gain a standard, then advanced licences. Then there was more training for motorcycles, pursuit, off road, 4X4, VIP/Royalty escort. All of those tasks requiring more skills and also being retested regularly, alongside the Traffic Law courses required to keep my job. Regular and effective training and assessment is the key to retaining skills and good practise.
I got involved with the civilian world of advanced training by being ‘voluntold’ by my unit boss to help a local group with their training program. I became an instructor in several Police training requirements, having qualified on an internal trainer’s course, but the skills I learned then pushed me further into the teaching and learning world. I became an advanced examiner, later a RoADAR RSE, also the Motorcycle Training Manager for the commercial side of RoSPA. The latter took me to other countries, and my learning went up in leaps and bounds.
Retiring from the Police, I started my own company providing rider training and helping lead European tours. I qualified to be a race circuit instructor, and another leap forwards in learning came to me. I went to college and obtained teaching qualifications from Plymouth University. The only interest all that has in you, is that it establishes how interested I am in my own personal development, as well as my students. Also, anyone holding a qualification worth anything at all, needs to be regularly tested, assessed and checked, to ensure they are still up to the original standard and capable of understanding their students, keep meticulous records and understand what teaching is. First understanding is that humans learn by making mistakes. It is built into us all.
I will never forget that I have human frailties, I must set a good example for my own and my family’s safety, as well as other road users.
Therefore, constant learning, practice, evaluation and correction are essential parts of my road user life, because combined they reduce risk. Amongst teachers there is a mantra: “If you want to learn a skill thoroughly and completely, teach it”.
In my RoSPA role, was involved in a TV series called The Hundred-Year-Old Driving School. Of the more elderly people I sat alongside and assessed their driving performance, I had one valuable lesson confirmed. We are all individuals. We will all age differently. We will not have the same physical and medical conditions. Therefore, we cannot be given one set of guidance notes for us all. What we can do is to learn from ourselves, our honesty and from others.
I retired for the third and last time in 2018 and I still miss teaching riders. Oh yes, the teaching bug never leaves, and neither does the riding bug. So, what do I do now with riding motorcycles. We continue to travel on long-distance tours twice a year. We ride locally regularly and often.
What difference is there now, to my early riding years? My physical ability. That is the main difference. I am told by my GP, that I am above average physically for my age, but I know I can tire more easily, and fatigue is itself a killer. Once I ‘retired’ my annual mileage reduced. I stopped riding during the middle of winter, usually from end of November to start of March. That reduced mileage means I have lost ‘practice time’, so need to have some rides on my own after winter, to make sure I am not making any critical errors and that I remain ‘bike fit’.
For one of our long trips in 2025, my wife and I left the southwest in mid-April, crossed by Eurotunnel to France, then rode across northern France, Germany, Austria, Serbia, Bulgaria to Greece. We then rode back through North Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, France back to the UK. 12 Countries, 4,400 miles, 26 days. We’ve done other long trips before. However, we coped well and made plans for a 2026 tour but still recognized the following effects on us both.
Eyesight: Some years ago, I found I needed reading glasses. How many of us can see well enough ahead, but have fuzzy Dash Cams, speedos etc.? Having discussed my requirements with my Optometrist, more recently I had spectacles adapted for me to see ahead and in my mirrors through the top two thirds of the lenses without any correction, and clearly read all essential information on my motorcycle dashboard through the bottom third of the lenses. I regularly use salt water to wash my eyes and apply a heat pad for 20 minutes, to keep eye fluids working. I have no problem with distance or seeing in darkness. My peripheral vision is excellent. I have my eyes checked every two years for vision and eye health.
Fatigue: Where we would have been happy to cover 400 motorway or 250 mountain roads back in the day, we now make that 300 and 180 as absolute maximum, but also with stops every 90 minutes. Even if the stop is a walk around the bike, or to take photos. Time and distance now require more discipline and planning. Physically, wearing a pair of ‘flight’ socks, used by sports people, helps reduce the risk of blood clots. They are recommended for people on long haul airplane flights, and long motorcycle tours. We also make more two-night stops, mostly every third riding day.
Making those changes has helped keep fatigue no worse than it was in 2016 and is vital because, when fatigue becomes an issue, concentration is also reduced. That can affect our safety space. Keeping a safe space is essential, because nobody ever crashed into a space. Wearing suitable clothing is essential. Too hot, too cold or wet is debilitating and leads to a loss of concentration. Be in no doubt that a lowered ability to concentrate will directly affect safety and can have fatal consequences. One place that emphasizes that fact is on roads crossing from Zion National Park, to Las Vegas, California. So many little roadside crosses that denote another visitor to ‘Gamble City’, who allowed fatigue to kill them as they tried to drive tired.
Strength: Strength and flexibility are big issues for us all, as our muscles and tendons naturally lose strength as we age. Being retired can lead to us sitting more, being less active, avoiding bending, stretching and lifting, which can lead to losing balance more frequently. Walking is still recommended as a fitness regime. I believe the NHS recommends a minimum of 20 minutes each day for people over 60.
Constant practice and keeping well balanced, also aided by walking. Balance and flexibility are key skills and come from having a strong body core. There are loads of online exercise sessions for balance, maintaining core body strength, keeping our joints flexible, that take up just a few minutes each day, but can have huge health benefits.
Vehicle: Touring motorcycles are by their nature, tall and when loaded for touring, heavy. So far, we can manage, but maybe another year or so, we’d need to address that. A friend of ours at 80 years, sold his motorcycle and bought a 600cc Super Scooter. He regularly tours France on his own. His bike can carry all he needs, is easily capable of cruising at motorway speeds, has easy predictable handling on non-motorway routes, as it has a lower Centre of gravity than a motorcycle. He has extended his riding life by recognizing his age, health and strength need maintaining. Being honest with himself he has engaged in exercises to keep himself flexible and strong enough to manage riding safely.
Honesty: We all must recognize our frailties. Eyesight; concentration span; energy levels; medication side effects; physical frailties; mental frailties all WILL change for everyone. But they will change in a different order, with different consequences for different people. Even if on waking up, we just don’t ‘feel right’, you must ask whether we are safe riding or driving in that state? Who will know? We will. Believe me, the last thing anyone wants is to explain their failures to a Coroner.
Medical Matters: This issue is currently of major concern and, quite rightly, should be looked at seriously, without any thought of losing votes for Government. Many medical issues are irregular in how they appear and how debilitating they may be. Currently, we are expected to be honest with Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency about what ails us, if it appears on their list of notifiable medical matters. By not being honest, the risk is to lose a license, be barred from obtaining vehicle insurance, convicted of Criminal Offences and heavily fined.
I have a bloods and tissue check every year, organized and recorded in my health records, by my GP. I read about every medication I may take and so far, have had no side effects bothering me. If that changes, I will without any doubt seek medical advice. The very serious side to ignoring health concerns, especially those required by law to be notified to DVSA, is to become incapable of handling the vehicle you are driving or riding and thereby cause the death of another road user. Have I had experience in dealing with such an accident. Yes, I have. More than once. It is not worth the risk, I assure you.
There is a lot of chatter currently (2026) about older drivers, which I’m not worried about personally, but can see how some may be afraid of being unfairly penalized. Whatever the outcome of that debate is, I don’t think it unreasonable for all road users, including cyclists and horse riders, to have to prove their fitness and ability, at their own cost and on a regular basis, and have the results recorded, throughout their road user career.
The principle that we should keep our minds open to learning is an essential one. That principle is necessary in order that we can learn skills, review performance and also understand our fellow road users and, make adjustments to our vehicle size and power when we have a need to.
Needing to accept everyone will make mistakes but acting always to reduce the risk of those mistakes, is another vital skill to learn. If we can remember those principles and be honest with ourselves over our fitness and ability, we should be able to keep the principle told to me by my first ever driving instructor, way back in 1964. “The responsibility of every road user is to maintain the safety of every road user, including yourself”. Once you cannot do that, stop riding.
However, there is nothing to stop any of us applying the policies of regular checks on our health and riding ability voluntarily, because being better should never stop for any road user.
Stuart Bullock, 7 Region, Avon & Somerset branch